About Us
Our History
In the summer of 1983 a group of parents of missing children began meeting in Minneapolis to offer moral support and comfort to each other during their ordeal. Out of that support group the idea that there should be a local resource for parents and families dealing with the issue of a missing child began to take shape. In 1984 this group of parents incorporated as the Missing Kids Action Agency; the name was changed to Missing Children Minnesota (MCM) in 1986.
In 1983, MCM participated in the rewriting of Minnesota’s parental kidnapping statute SS609.26. In 1990, Governor Rudy Perpich established a Governor’s Task Force on Missing Children; two delegates from MCM were invited to serve on the task force. In 1991, the legislature passed the Missing Children’s Act, which included the registration of sex offenders, flagging of school records and additional rewriting of the parental kidnapping statute.
MCM has helped thousands of families and children across Minnesota and the Midwest by providing 24 hour case management and crisis intervention services. In addition to search assistance, we also provide four critically acclaimed educational programs to children and adults throughout Minnesota, and all across the country. Every year, MCM presents abduction prevention and personal safety programs to schools, daycare centers, early childhood and family education groups, churches and children’s vacation camps. We hope that by providing children with the tools they need to make better decisions this year, we will have fewer missing children next year.
Over the years, MCM has been recognized by many organizations and individuals as a leading authority on missing children. We have been designated as a special collection, and are a recognized published of personal safety materials for children. In addition, MCM is a charter member of the Association of Missing and Exploited Children’s Organizations (AMECO); an international alliance of non-profit missing children’s organizations, which is primarily funded by the United States Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. AMECO requires that all member organizations recertify themselves every 3-5 years.
MCM is also a member of Community Solutions Fund, the second largest workplace giving campaign in the Twin Cities area. Donations may be made to MCM through Community Solutions Fund, or directly by going online to: www.charitybox.com/mchildmn Missing Children Minnesota is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; all contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by the law.
Our Staff
Carol Watson
Executive Director
Carol was a member of the original support group of parents of missing children in Minneapolis. She has been with MCM since it’s inception in 1983. Carol majored in English and theatre at Roosevelt University in Chicago and began work on her masters degree in Minneapolis before founding MCM. She is nationally recognized as an authority on parental abduction and has testified as an expert witness on the subject.
Carol’s true passions are prevention and education. She is the author of all three of MCM’s critically-acclaimed books about personal safety for children; “Run, Yell & Tell!” “I Want To Be S.A.F.E.R.” and “Erica’s Choices” and developed all three educational programs upon which the books are based. Carol has been recognized with too many awards to list, including a national service award from the Washington Times Foundation and a Giraffe Award, which is given to individuals who “stick their necks out for the public good.” In 2001 Carol and her husband Richard were named Parents of the Year by the American Family Coalition and the Washington Times Foundation. In 1990 she was appointed to the Governer’s Task Force on Missing Children and in 1992 she assisted the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in the development of Minnesota Guidelines to Missing Children Investigations: a Resource Book. She attended the White House Conference on Missing Children in 2001 and regularly attends workshops and conferences across the country, both as a guest and a speaker. Carols was a founding board member of the Association of Missing and Exploited Children’s Organizations and currently sits on the board of Community Solutions Fund in the Twin Cities. Carol is heavily involved in abduction prevention and personal safety education for children and regularly appears on local and national television, radio and news media.